16 Nov 2020
Setting it Straight: T cell Recognition
Setting it Straight - Issue #33
Written by Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty
Last week’s essay was a bit tortuous, but I wanted to show how we discovered both the true nature of T cell-mediated immunity and the reason why we have a transplantation system. And I was also echoing the point made by Isaac Newton (of apple/gravity fame) back in the 17th century that, as scientists, we are part of a continuum. In Newton’s words, “If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of giants”. This is in a letter to his hated competitor Robert Hooke (Hooke’s Law) who, partly due to a curvature of the spine, was very short in stature: it may not have been a totally amiable observation!